Brown, 26, came to the Bengals last offseason on a one-year contract after playing 64 straight games in four seasons after the Bills drafted him in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Injuries, though, limited Brown to just seven games in 2018. He hurt his ankle in the season-opener and later said he was, "crawling" to the bye week. Later, a knee injury led to his placement on IR and ended his season.

Brown finished with 42 total tackles, two interceptions and four passes defended.

Linebacker was one of the Bengals’ top priorities to address this offseason.

Brown and Nick Vigil were viewed as the in-house candidates most likely to help bolster the position. And the club could use the No. 11 overall pick in April’s Draft on LSU captain Devin White or Michigan star Devin Bush to give the defense a leader/playmaker that was missing in the middle last season.

Free agency has seen the price of top tier veteran linebackers shoot up.

The Jets reportedly agreed to a five-year, $85-million deal with former Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley. And the 49ers reportedly gave former Bucs ‘backer Kwon Alexander that averaged nearly $14 million annually and included $27 million in guaranteed money.